Animal slaughtering chemical treatment and method

ABSTRACT

A material and method for processing meat in production in which the meat, both carcass and head, which can proceed on different production lines, is rinsed and treated with acetic acid after hide removal. The water and acid are maintained at a temperature of between 80 and 150 degrees Fahrenheit. The acid is in a water based solution at concentrations ranging from 0.25 percent to 2.00 percent. After evisceration for the carcass and removal of waste from the head, the head and carcass are rinsed and treated with acetic acid again before being sent to cold storage from which they are released later for further processing. The first rinsing step is commenced within one hour of the time the hide is removed from the animal.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 003,855, filed Jan. 16, 1987.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of the treatment of thecarcass of slaughtered animals, particularly cattle. In a modernhigh-output meat packing plant, 3200 to 7000 animals can be processedper day at a rate which exceeds 400 per hour per production line.

Modern production facilities have the ability to produce more than1,000,000 pounds of ground meat and other less fragile products eachday. Modern inspection and processing procedures are sufficient toinsure that all products (intended for human consumption) which leavethe processing plant are in good condition for that use. However,subsequent handling can introduce or promote the growth of undesirablebacteria which can cause the packed product to look or be unfit forhuman use.

All such packed products have a "shelf-life" during which time they canbe sold and used as food and after which they must be discarded. Thepresent invention greatly extends the shelf-life of packed products,especially beef, and improves the resistance of the packed products tomishandling during the distribution cycle.

Mishandling meat products during the distribution cycle is a leadingcause of damaged product. The most delicate product is ground meatbecause of the vast increase in surface area exposed and the vastincrease in handling required as compared to other cuts of meat. Thedamage to meat products during the distribution cycle can be greatlyreduced, if the meat at the beginning of the cycle is relativelybacteria free.

The primary animal sources of meat in the Western World and especiallythe United States are beef, pork, lamb and calves. All of these animalsare host to a wide variety of natural bacteria in their oral cavities,intestinal tracts and skin. An important aim of every slaughterhouse isto prevent contamination of the carcass by the bacteria naturallypresent on and in the animal.

There has been some work in the field of sanitizing meat includingtreatment with ultra-violet light, spraying with water, acetic acid,sodium hypochlorite and chlorinated water. None of these systems havebeen without problems. Ultra-violet light did not sufficiently controlbacteria to be effective. Any sanitizing meat treatment must besufficiently selective because certain bacteria are necessary forcharacteristic flavor development of meat which enhances its taste.Acetic acid has been experimented with a levels in the 3% and 4% rangewith promising results in laboratory conditions on cut meat and notwhole carcasses. Tests using sodium hypochlorite have shown no usefulresult.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention discloses a novel disinfection system for use in ahigh volume production line processing from 3200 to 7000 animals perday. The invention uses a dual wash system for the head on one line andthe remainder of the carcass on the other line. The wash itself is adual one with water in a specified temperature range and with acontrolled delivery rate and pressure followed by treatment with diluteacetic acid ranging from about 0.25 to 2.00 percent concentration. Thewashes with water and acid are performed immediately after hide removaland then again immediately after evisceration. The carcass then proceedto the cold room for storage prior to further butchering.

The novel chemicals and process steps produce striking reductions inbacteria levels and increases in shelf life. Shelf life rises from 25 to30%. Discoloration and slime formation are vastly reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a flow chart showing an embodiment of the present inventionmethod.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a spray cabinet forming a part of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of another spray cabinet forming a partof the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of another spray cabinet forming a partof the invention.

FIG. 5 shows a chart summarizing the more important benefits of thepresent inventive method and chemicals.

DESCRIPTION

A clear understanding of the present invention can be gained fromreviewing the flow chart shown in FIG. 1. Before step 1, the animal iskilled and hung dead down from a hook. As shown in step 1, the animal'shide is removed and the head is separated from the carcass and placed ona separate production line 1 (which can run near to that of the maincarcass).

The time from hide removal to the time of treatment is exceedinglyimportant. The bacteria present in the carcass are active and will notrespond to the treatment after about one hour from removal of the hide.In order to control the initial level of bacteria, it is desirable tostart treatment within fifteen to thirty seconds after removal of thehide and consequent exposure of the fat directly under the hide. Thetreatment which follows is of limited value if performed more than onehour after removal of the hide.

The head and the carcass, each on its own production line enter acabinet which is closed possibly by air curtains and has a reducedpressure. Each is rinsed by a pulsating spray of water ranging from 80degrees to 150 degrees fahrenheit. The source of the pulsating spray isoscillating as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. After the warm water wash, thehead and carcass pass before a spray of acetic acid maintained from 80degrees fahrenheit to 150 degrees fahrenheit as shown in step 3. Theduration of each spray is about 9.0 seconds, however a proper range forsuch a spray is about 5 to 25 seconds. During the acetic acid spray eachcarcass and head receive about 0.15 gallons of acetic acid. The closedchamber prevents the escape of the acetic acid and keeps more of theacid on the meat to be treated.

After the first wash and acid treatment, the head and carcass have theinedible parts removed as shown in step 4. Each then enters a secondwashing chamber for a spray wash and second acetic acid treatment asshown in steps 5 and 6. The head and carcass are then sent to a coldroom maintained at about 32 degrees fahrenheit for about 24 hours ofstorage before further processing.

The structural details of the production lines are shown in FIGS. 2, 3and 4. A rail 12 has hooks 14 for suspending a carcass 16. The rail 12is moved by a motor 15 and moves the carcass to a first washing chamber18 which has doors 31 and 32 for containing the material within thewashing chamber 18. The doors may be air curtains which are well knownin the art.

Within chamber 18 is an exhaust system 35 for maintaining a reducedpressure within the chamber when the doors are closed. Hot and coldwater regulator valves 28 and 30 control the temperature of the incomingwater. The desired temperature range is from 80 to 150 fahrenheitdepending on the product being processed. A range of about 110 to about130 degrees fahrenheit appears optimum for beef.

The water at the desired temperature passes through a pressure regulatorvalve 22 and a pulsator assembly which is commercially available to aline 20 for connection to oscillating delivery heads 25 which arearranged in an array. Delivery pressure is maintained at about a rangeof 10 to 100 pounds per sqaure inch.

Also within the cabinet 18 is a fluid line 40 which leads to an array ofheads 44 for spraying the dilute acetic acid on the carcass. Line 40leads to a tank 42 which contains the acetic acid. A pump 43 whenactivated pumps the dilute solution to the carcass at a rate of about0.15 gallons per carcass.

Cabinet 180 which is downstream of cabinet 18 is substantially similar.Parts in cabinet 180 which are like those in cabinet 18 have the samenumber folowed by the numeral "0". The only significant differencebetween the spray cabinets 18 and 180 is that cabinet 180 does not havean oscillating array of sprinkler heads 125.

FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 2; parts in FIG. 3 which are like those inFIG. 2 have the same number followed by a "0". Thus parts 18 and 180 aresimilar. FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 2; parts in FIG. 4 which are similarto those in FIG. 2 have the same number followed by a "00".

The results of the present invention are shown clearly by the FIG. 5charts which have been normalized to show the control group values as100. These charts which show tests on the loin, shank and hocks and 10,20 and 30 day loin shelf life tests prove the value of the presentinvention.

TPC is the total plate count of bacteria on the meat per unit area. TCCis the total coliform bacteria count on the meat per unit area. Lacticacid bacteria which do not present a health hazard if eaten areimportant to be eliminated or kept low for consumer acceptance. Lacticacid bacteria are known to all for their presence in both sweet andsour. On meat, the sour smell is highly undesirable.

Normalization of the test results was achieved by using the control testresult, substracting from it the treatment test result and adding 100and then dividing the number by the control test result.

It can easily be seen that the present invention achieves some highlyimportant advance for the meat packing industry.

What we claim is:
 1. In a production system for producing meat thecombination comprising:means for moving the meat along an assembly line;first and second cabinet means on the assembly line through which themeat can pass; means for spraying the meat passing through the cabinetmeans; pressure reducing means connected to the cabinet means forreducing the pressure within the cabinet means; door means for closingthe cabinet means; first delivery means for delivering to the cabinetmeans water and acetic acid; acetic acid storage means for providingacetic acid to the delivery means.